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Stairway to Heaven

Led Zeppelin · 1971 · solo by Jimmy Page
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Guitar hero

Gary Clark Jr.

Austin's fuzz-soaked bridge between old blues and modern soul

Gary Clark Jr. grew up in Austin, Texas, and started playing guitar around the age of twelve. The city's deep blues culture shaped him quickly: as a teenager he was sitting in at local jams and caught the attention of Clifford Antone, owner of the legendary Antone's club, who gave him opportunities to play alongside veteran blues musicians. Austin treated him as a hometown prodigy long before the rest of the country knew his name.

His early career was a slow build of independent releases and regional gigs. He also tried acting, taking a role in John Sayles's 2007 film Honeydripper as a young guitarist in the Jim Crow South. The real breakthrough came in 2010, when Eric Clapton invited him to play the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago. His raw, distorted blues impressed the audience and industry alike, and he soon signed with Warner Bros., releasing the Bright Lights EP in 2011.

His full-length major-label debut, Blak and Blu, arrived in 2012 and deliberately mixed blues, soul, hip-hop rhythm and garage rock. That same year he performed at the White House as part of a blues concert that also featured B.B. King and Buddy Guy. In 2014 he won his first Grammy, for Please Come Home, and a live double album showed off his ability to stretch songs into long, fuzz-heavy explorations. The Story of Sonny Boy Slim followed in 2015.

The 2019 album This Land was his most outspoken record, with a title track confronting racism and belonging in America; it won three Grammys, including Best Contemporary Blues Album. He also contributed a cover of Come Together to the Justice League soundtrack and collaborated across rock, R&B and pop. In 2024 he released JPEG Raw, an adventurous album that pushed his sound even further from traditional blues while keeping the guitar at its heart.

The 10 greatest Gary Clark Jr. solos

  1. 1
    When My Train Pulls In
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2011
  2. 2
    Bright Lights
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2011
  3. 3
    Numb
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2012
  4. 4
    Third Stone from the Sun / If You Love Me Like You Say
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2012
  5. 5
    Catfish Blues
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2014
  6. 6
    This Land
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2019
  7. 7
    Grinder
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2019
  8. 8
    Ain't Messin 'Round
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2012
  9. 9
    Next Door Neighbor Blues
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2012
  10. 10
    Low Down Rolling Stone
    Gary Clark Jr. · solo by Gary Clark Jr. · 2019

The sound

Clark's sound is built on thick, often savagely fuzzed tones, drawing on Jimi Hendrix, Albert King and the hill-country and Texas blues traditions, but arranged with the grooves of soul and hip-hop. He favors semi-hollow and SG-type guitars through loud Fender amps, frequently with octave fuzz that makes his leads snarl. His solos mix stinging single-note bends with droning, repetitive riffs that build a trance-like intensity. He can switch to a soft falsetto and clean, understated fills, making the contrast between restraint and eruption central to his style.

  • Epiphone Casino (guitar) A hollowbody closely associated with him, later issued as a signature model.
  • Gibson SG (guitar) His go-to solidbody for heavier, fuzzier material.
  • Fender Stratocaster (guitar) Used at times for cleaner, brighter tones.
  • Fender Vibro-King (amp) A loud, reverb-rich amplifier behind much of his live sound.
  • Fulltone Octafuzz (effect) An octave fuzz that gives his leads their buzzing, Hendrix-like edge.

Covers

  • Third Stone from the Sun, originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience He used the instrumental as a psychedelic launch pad within a medley.
  • If You Love Me Like You Say, originally by Little Johnny Taylor A lively, soul-soaked reworking stitched onto his Hendrix tribute.
  • Come Together, originally by The Beatles A dark, heavy take produced with Junkie XL for the superhero film.
  • Catfish Blues, originally by Robert Petway He stretched the Delta standard into a long, fuzzed-out improvisation.
  • Sweet Home Chicago, originally by Robert Johnson Performed at the White House in an all-star blues jam that featured B.B. King.

Timeline

  • 1984 Born in Austin, Texas
  • 1996 Begins playing guitar around age twelve
  • 2007 Acts in John Sayles's film Honeydripper
  • 2010 Breakthrough set at the Crossroads Guitar Festival
  • 2011 Releases the Bright Lights EP on Warner Bros.
  • 2012 Releases Blak and Blu; plays the White House
  • 2014 Wins first Grammy for Please Come Home
  • 2015 Releases The Story of Sonny Boy Slim
  • 2019 Releases This Land
  • 2024 Releases JPEG Raw

Facts

  1. He started playing guitar at around twelve years old.
  2. Clifford Antone, founder of Austin's famous Antone's club, was an early champion.
  3. He played a young musician in the 2007 film Honeydripper.
  4. Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010 was his big national break.
  5. His first Grammy came for the song Please Come Home, in an R&B category.
  6. The album This Land won three Grammys.
  7. He performed at the White House in 2012 alongside B.B. King and Buddy Guy.
  8. He recorded a cover of Come Together for the Justice League film soundtrack.
  9. Epiphone released a signature version of his Casino hollowbody.
  10. His music routinely mixes blues with hip-hop beats, soul vocals and garage-rock fuzz.